


thoughts on the Hunter(s)

by Schnikeys_Discuss (Schnikeys)



Series: Clockie's Meta [15]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Analysis, Archived from radioactivesupersonic Blog, Character Analysis, Gen, Nonfiction, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27057907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnikeys/pseuds/Schnikeys_Discuss
Summary: "The Hunter’s… interesting. It seems like he leads a pretty bleak existence. It’s honestly kind of funny that he seems to hate the Colosseum so much, because, in a meta sense, I think both Hunter and the Colosseum are different discussions on the empty pursuit of strength, if that makes sense?"..."Something I want to add to my post that the other voice in the Hunter’s Journal is probably Ghost themselves is that, no matter how matter-of-factly worded, the entries betray opinions and emotions."
Series: Clockie's Meta [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1974223
Kudos: 17





	thoughts on the Hunter(s)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ClockworkRainbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkRainbow/gifts).



sepublic asked: Got any thoughts on the Hunter from Hollow Knight?

* * *

The Hunter’s… interesting. It seems like he leads a pretty bleak existence. It’s honestly kind of funny that he seems to hate the Colosseum so much, because, in a meta sense, I think both Hunter and the Colosseum are different discussions on the empty pursuit of strength, if that makes sense?

Hollow Knight, as a game, is not actively, willfully subversive of the genre the way say, something like _Undertale_ is, but, it definitely is exploring and discussing the idea that there’s something a wee bit concerning about hunting down and killing a bunch of different enemies like tick marks on a list- that it no longer is about survival or your quest, but about your ego. This is made clear the very first time the Hunter salutes Ghost, the first thing he ever says to them.

We also see, throughout the manifold entries that Hunter comments on, he’s led a rather bleak existence.

Though while this is technically about characterizing Ghost rather than characterizing the Hunter, my personal headcanon about the Hunter’s Journal is the first description given is _Ghost’s_ notes on the subject- we know for a fact the second addition, unless it’s replaced by someone else, is the Hunter’s, but, we also know that some of these entities, the Hunter did not encounter.

After all, there was not another Broken Vessel for the Hunter to have found and eaten. He spoke to and took Ghost as an apprentice merely because they approached him confidently- that makes it unlikely he hunted another Vessel if it was that easy to dissuade him from considering Ghost as prey. And the Sibling entity in particular makes it clear Hunter has never been to the Abyss, and thus would not be able to depict or describe the Siblings. Many entries in the journal would seemingly be added exclusively by Ghost, since they’re other things Hunter logically can’t have encountered- even though the Hunter has comments on those, it would seem to be that Ghost showed Hunter the entry and then he talked about it. That’s certainly the tone of the Broken Vessel’s description, where the most the Hunter can say is that he’s seen “something like it” before.

The fun thing is this allows us to characterize not only Hunter, but Ghost, leading to several interesting tidbits:

  * Ghost appears to really like weapons, both natural and constructed- they take a lot of note of the materials, armaments, and fighting styles of the various enemies.  
  

  * They seem to have a high opinion of both Hornet and Ogrim, since their entities describe them respectfully as “skilled protector of Hallownest’s ruins” and “skilled combatant living at the heart of the Waterways”  
  

  * Evidently they know a few things about Hallownest and its culture- the guards’ hierarchy (Great Husk Sentry), the training of the Moss Knights, and the intelligence of Uumuu and the Soul Sanctum denizens. It’s unclear if this means Ghost has memories before the Abyss (as possibly implied by the cradle in the White Palace and the ‘nursery song’ that plays there, that Ghost’s Shade recreates) or if they instead picked this up heavily from listening to people. (personal headcanon: a combination of the two, but, like Quirrell, Ghost probably doesn’t fully recall the pre-Abyss experiences that contributed their knowledge)  
  

  * After defeating each of the Warrior Dreams, Ghost knows at least some of the circumstances of their death. This is either conjecture, overlapping history, or (personal headcanon) having absorbed the Essence that comprises the Dream, Ghost is then able to access their memories.   
  

  * Ghost is pretty much as rude to Zote as Zote is to them, just indirectly. Also calling him a “self-proclaimed knight” is IMO sort of funny considering the notes on the city guard husks, the Moss Knight, Watcher Knight, and Hive Knight entries would suggest Ghost is _kinda really interested in knights_ , so it just raises the idea of Zote claiming himself to be a knight and Ghost just staring him down like ‘do you think this is a fucking game’  
  

  * This would suggest that for entries like the Void Idol, Nightmare King Grimm, or the Warrior Dreams, Ghost may have personally chosen what quote to put in, which also would imply Ghost has a very good memory for the snippets they access. Since many of these pieces are inaccessible in normal dialogue (and the same can be said of the poem “Elegy for Hallownest” that overlays the opening cutscene) it might be these are pieces Ghost gains access to in their gathering of Essence. The Seer does clam the charm she gives you is “plucked from one of my dearest memories”  
  
This would suggest their interpersonal curiosity drives the “obsession” the Seer talks about if you talk to her after the Awakened Dream Nail.



* * *

Something I want to add to [my post that the other voice in the Hunter’s Journal is probably Ghost themselves](http://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/183438203665/got-any-thoughts-on-the-hunter-from-hollow-knight) is that, no matter how matter-of-factly worded, the entries betray opinions and emotions.

The entry for the Pilflip flat out calls it an “odd creature”, which evokes an interesting image of childlike wonder- Ghost possibly being caught off-guard by one in the dark maze of the Waterways, smacking it over with a strike, and then being surprised to discover it has a whole other set of legs and isn’t at all opposed to being inverted.

I mentioned already the entry for Zote, but, it is worth noting that while Ghost is unflattering in their description of Zote (they call him a “self-proclaimed” knight “of no renown”) they also mark down several things that are clearly important to Zote’s self-image given the way he talks about them: his self-given moniker of “the mighty”, the name of his weapon, and that he made it personally.

Likewise it’s interesting that certain entries, Ghost has a _very_ taciturn description of: Radiance, and both of Grimm’s forms are given short ominous sentences and nothing else.

With the entry for the Weathered Mask, Ghost appears intrigued by the Godseeker- they’re speculating in interest about the mask’s design.

And, once again, the entry for the White Defender further suggests that Ghost thinks highly of Ogrim- they outright describe his dream-self as “gallant”

Also, while the structure of the journal is obviously not a one-to-one with the interface we navigate in-game, I have to raise the personal hypothesis that, at least for the entries that Ghost exclusively encounters and thus adds to the journal, they probably drew the accompanying picture, which, considering they will happily edit their map if given a quill, and note areas with pins, makes me think about something someone pointed out about Silksong- that Hornet keeps a quest journal, while Ghost does not.

It makes me think that Ghost may understand, and be able to create written word just fine- they read, the journal would suggest they write, and they can certainly understand and act on what’s said to them to such a degree of finesse they can effectively buy and sell goods- but as far as personal interest goes, they may lean more visual, in the sense that drawing a map and decorating it with various colored and patterned pins is way more appealing to them as a way to keep track of things.

Ghost, staring at Hornet’s handwriting, and they are physically incapable of squinting, but they are holding it like three inches from their mask boggling because _it’s so pretty but how do you find anything in your notes, Hornet_ , and Hornet just making a practiced flick with a calligraphy quill, continuing her note-taking, because she is not about to _try_ and touch Ghost’s organizational system. What do literally any of those colors mean, little Ghost. What’s this strange picture you drew in one of the rooms mean. How, exactly, does this creature navigate reliably. Do they buy maps for the express purpose of doodling on them.

**Author's Note:**

> Analysess originally found here: <https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/183438203665/got-any-thoughts-on-the-hunter-from-hollow-knight>  
> <https://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/183464710680/something-i-want-to-add-to-my-post-that-the-other>


End file.
